In January 2019, news outlets across the world reported that the actor Jussie Smollett had been the victim of a particularly vile and disturbing hate crime. Smollett – who was, at the time, best known for his leading role in Fox’s music drama Empire – had been set upon in the early hours of the morning in his Chicago neighbourhood by two white men who had racially and homophobically abused him (Smollett is gay and mixed race). During a bitter cold snap in the city, the men had poured bleach on him and even tied a noose around his neck, while declaring they were in “Maga country”. The resulting deluge of support for Smollett is recounted in the opening of this documentary, with even Donald Trump describing the attack as “horrible … it doesn’t get any worse”.
These days, Smollett is no longer best known for his role on Empire but for his participation in what is widely understood to have been a hoax, organised by the actor and carried out for a fee by two acquaintances, brothers Akimbola (Bola) and Olabinjo Osundairo (Ola). The idea the Osundairos – who are of Nigerian heritage – had perpetrated a fake white supremacist attack made the case into instant meme fodder, while subsequent legal proceedings saw Smollett charged with having staged the whole thing.
